


4 Times Arthur Was Made To Wait + 1 Time Merlin Waited For Him

by Guardian_Rose



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 4+1 Though, 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Modern Era, Pining, prompted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 05:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17975009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_Rose/pseuds/Guardian_Rose
Summary: For this prompt: I had a dream last night that would work perfectly for merthur. Basically Merlin works at a coffee shop and Arthur comes in on a busy morning and makes his way to the front because he’s the prince. Merlin doesn’t like his attitude or behavior and sends Arthur to the back, even though he knows that he just sent the prince to the back of the line. THEN Arthur, being so intrigued by Merlin, comes back every time Merlin works just to try at get Merlin to go in a date with him.---Merlin owns a coffee shop and Arthur becomes a recurring customer even when Merlin doesn't bend to his royally prattish ways.





	4 Times Arthur Was Made To Wait + 1 Time Merlin Waited For Him

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to the anon who prompted this! Loved writing it! Sorry it took so long, I hope you enjoy <3

**-1**

 

Merlin had worked long enough in the cafe to be used to all the different levels of conversational buzz and was no longer bothered by the shifts that occur throughout the day. Which is why, when his back was turned, he was intensely aware of the sudden hush that slices through the shop, broken only by the door closing. He takes his time before turning around, mentally running through how to react to a million different situations. If it was a man with a gun he’d do whatever they said and just hope he had good insurance. If it was a woman giving birth out on the street he’d bring her into the shop, make her comfortable and call an ambulance ‘cause he didn’t know enough about that sort of stuff to really be much use. If someone had died, he’d also call an ambulance, perform a bit of CPR and pray that no ghosts started haunting him for serving the food they choked on. There were a dozen more he hadn’t figure out but he found he needn’t have bothered with any of them. 

 

The small line, just four people, two of which were a mother and her daughter, had stepped to the side and the mother who’d been at the front just seconds ago had given way to a pompous looking man. Blond, roughly Merlin’s own height and looking down his nose with a somewhat haughty expression like he was impatient after having to wait for ten minutes already just for a take-away espresso. Which was definitely not the situation this man was in because Merlin was infinitely sure he’d have remembered seeing this man,  _ handsome man _ his brain supplied unhelpfully, in the queue if he’d been waiting. Instead, he’d clearly cut the line. And, with it being England and they were lacking another man taller or broader than this usurper waiting in the line too, no one had confronted him. Which left it up to Merlin himself. 

 

The man grimaced, it may have been an attempt at a smile Merlin supposed, as he looked Merlin up and down across the counter before crossing his arms, leaning back slightly and looked up at the menu boards hung above Merlin’s head. He didn’t seem at all concerned that he’d cut the line and was infringing on one of the most sacred of English practices.

 

“I’ll have an americano, one shot of hazelnut. To go.” The man said, his voice just as imperious and posh as his appearance. 

 

Merlin wiped the instinctive scowl of his face and pulled his best ‘you’re the worst, I wish I wasn’t having to be polite to you’ smile. “Sorry but you’ll need to go to the back of the line. I’m serving others currently.”

 

The man did scowl, tipping his head to the side slightly and looking back at Merlin like he was trying to figure out a particularly hard puzzle. “What?”

 

“You cut the line. You can’t do that.” Merlin repeated, his smile growing tense and his cheeks heated up a little under the man’s intense eye contact.

 

“Seriously? You want me to go to the back of the line? You realise who I am?  _ Prince Arthur _ ?”

 

Merlin internally blanched; he had not known that though now he looked at the man he could see the resemblance to the few pictures he’d seen of the Queen’s son over the years, still, it didn’t change things. “Yes. I’m aware. Now, if you don’t mind, you’re holding up the line.” 

 

The man continued to have a strange staring contest with him for a further few seconds before huffing and doing as he was told.

 

**-2**

 

It was going slow. It was a Monday after all and people were still just heading into work. Which was why he generally worked on restocking now because whilst there was the occasional customer they were typically regulars now and didn’t mind him banging about with boxes behind the counter whilst they read the paper or whatever. He’d had a week of uptick in the amount of customers he had coming in after a magazine had printed a picture of Arthur leaving his cafe. He’d had several offers, he’d be lying if he didn’t say some were tempting, to have his confrontation with Arthur published but he’d declined them all and quickly enough the royal enthusiasts had stopped coming round in the hopes Arthur would reappear. Merlin was glad for that. Though he’d also be lying if he said he was only relieved that Arthur didn’t seem likely to return. 

 

He shook his head and focused back on his boxes. He needed these packs of tea sorted and organised before the brunch rush came through. The bell rang whilst he was in the back so he called through to let them know he was on his way, he grabbed the box of teas, heavier than he’d expected, and grunted with the effort it took to hike it up to balance slightly on one hip. He walked round and back into the shop floor when he found someone taking the box from him. A certain blond someone. 

 

“I’ve got it.” Merlin snapped and tugged the box back unsuccessfully. 

 

He overbalanced and ended up leaning against the wall whilst Arthur wrestled the box of him smoothly and grinned smugly at him over the top. 

 

“Are you always this clumsy?” Arthur asked, already turning to walk away so he could slide the box onto an empty area of Merlin’s counter. 

 

Merlin followed sullenly and refused to answer. He logged onto the till and tried not to let his annoyance slip into his voice as he asked what Arthur wanted today.

 

“Hot chocolate, hazelnut shot, please.” 

 

“Coming right up.” Merlin gladly turned his back on Arthur to start making the drink, Arthur on the other hand was clearly not done with the conversation.

 

“How’s business going?” 

 

Merlin shot him a raised eyebrow over his shoulder briefly. “Fine, thank you.”

 

Arthur hummed and seemed to linger over handing over the money when Merlin rung it up. 

 

“Have I upset you?” Arthur asked at last as he stalled from taking the receipt Merlin was  _ trying _ to hand over.

 

The question surprised him but he wasn’t in the mood to sooth a royal ass’ ego. “I’ve done deliveries before, you know? I can handle lifting a bloody box. You don’t get to come in here and do the ‘help out the peasants’ thing for the photographers following you. Not with me.”

 

Arthur blinked, seemingly dazed, before nodding once. “Right. I’ll just go then.” 

 

Merlin dropped the receipt at last onto the counter. “Thanks.”

 

**-3**

 

“You know, I haven’t actually gotten your name yet. Bit unfair, don’t you think?” 

 

Merlin sighed and looked up from closing the till drawer with a resigned smile. “Go to the back of the line, Arthur, the rules still haven’t changed.”

 

Arthur pulled a dramatically aghast face and looked behind him to where, Merlin was now realising, no line existed. “I  _ did _ wait in line. I’m offended you would think otherwise.”

 

“Can’t blame a man for leaning on past experience.” Merlin shrugged. “What do you want?”

 

“Hazelnut latte, please. Oh, and your name.” Arthur leaned his elbows on the counter like he owned the place, Merlin rolled his eyes but couldn’t be bothered to tell him off for it; it’d been an exhausting day already, filled to the brim with sickly couples out celebrating Valentine’s.

 

“It’s on my name tag. I did presume that even the most expensive of schools would teach you to read.”

 

Arthur huffed at that but didn’t snipe back. “I wanted to hear you say it, is that so bad? A proper introduction?”

 

“Don’t you have better things to do than bug me on today of all days? If you can’t get yourself a date then what hope is there for the rest of us.” Merlin handed over the drink, telling himself he imagined the flash of hurt in Arthur’s eyes. 

 

“Just your name, then I promise I’ll leave you be.”

 

Merlin rolled his eyes but complied. 

 

“Mer _ lin _ .” Arthur rolled the last syllable out like he was simultaneously savouring it and demeaning Merlin for belonging to it. “Thank you, Merlin. It was lovely to meet you.”

 

He wasn’t sure if the £50 note in his tips jar was from Arthur or not, though in all likelihood it was, as he had been too preoccupied trying to place the feeling Arthur saying his name had released to watch him leave properly like normal.

 

**-4**

 

The cafe was doing well, lively and relatively full of people laughing and enjoying their drinks and cakes. The only issue, Arthur noticed straight away as the door clicked shut behind him, was that someone was missing. A pretty important someone. Also a pretty dense someone who didn’t seem to be picking up on any of the signals Arthur had been putting out for weeks now. So he’d decided to suck it up, get a grip, bite the bullet and all that, and had walked all the way here with a rehearsed speech and nothing but good intentions mixed with just enough courage to see him through. All of which crumbled away as he saw the woman behind the counter serving people with a sunny smile and a warm voice that wasn’t the one he’d been playing on repeat in his head for weeks. Possibly a month now. Or longer. But the point was, he thought, Merlin wasn’t there. He wasn’t behind the counter or sitting at a table or shuffling round in the back. 

 

There wasn’t much else to do but step into the back of the line anyway, he’d draw more unwanted attention to himself if he were to just turn around and leave now. Sullenly he shuffled his feet and tried to comfort himself with the thought that maybe it was just Merlin’s day off and he’d be back next week and Arthur could sneak away from his schedule as had become traditional and ask him on the date then. He could be patient. He could wait, he told himself. Yet.

 

“Where’s Merlin?” He blurted when it was finally his turn. 

 

The woman blushed as recognition flooded her expression then shock, then awe, then confusion. “What? Sorry, what, your highness?”

 

Arthur rolled his eyes and waved a hand impatiently. “None of that, please. Where’s Merlin, is he okay?”

 

“Merlin,” at this moment the woman, Gwen her name tag said, seemed to realise something else and her smile became more smug than kind, “is ill. He’s been forced to take the day off.”

 

At this, a wave of worry and worst case scenarios rocked through Arthur’s stomach and he disantly berated himself for being so pathetic. “Forced?”

 

Gwen laughed. “Merlin doesn’t take a day off willingly, he has to be coerced to look after himself. Anyway, what can I get for you?”

 

“Just a latte please.” He took a deep breath, tapping into that prince-ly confidence. “Will you tell him I hope he gets better soon, for me?”

 

Gwen’s smile softened and she nodded. “Yes, of course.”

 

**+1**

 

Merlin has drink all ready along with his and they go off on a date at the end of Merlin’s shift

 

Arthur gave it another week before returning to the shop. He’d thought about leaving it be for a couple of weeks, had ummed and ahhed, but his advisor, Gaius, had noticed his ‘moping’ and pushed him on his way. So here he was. Standing in line again only it was Gwen behind the counter. But this time, Merlin was there too. Arthur had been, not so subtly, watching him while he waited in line. Merlin sat with his back to Arthur, near the back of the cafe, as far out of the way as possible of the windows and any prying eyes. Arthur tried to bite back on the hope that Merlin had chosen that table in particular for him, so they could talk on their own. He tried. He didn’t particularly succeed. 

 

He ordered a hazelnut hot chocolate from Gwen, feeling lucky, and was handed a drink for Merlin as well with a whispered line of encouragement from Gwen herself. He sat down opposite Merlin, unable to bite back the smirk when Merlin instantly blushed at having been caught daydreaming. Arthur pushed the other man’s drink across the table and took a sip of his own. Merlin smiled shyly, odd for him, but just as endearing.

 

“How are you feeling?” Arthur asked at last. “Better, I hope.”

 

Merlin nodded. “Much better, thank you. Gwen told me you came in on my day off.”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

They lapsed into silence again. It was more comfortable than Arthur had expected. He didn’t feel any pressure to speak or a desire to be anywhere else with anyone else. And, hopefully, Merlin felt the same way as he kept stealing glances at Arthur as he drank his tea. Eventually though, Merlin cleared his throat.

 

“I, uh, Gwen said that you were...disappointed? That I wasn’t in, last week?” 

 

“She did?” Merlin nodded. “Well. I can’t say I was relieved.”

 

Merlin frowned a little, brows furrowing. “I think I’m going to take that as a compliment?”

 

“It was intended as one.” Arthur said boldly, surprising himself and Merlin, who blushed again. “I had wanted to make plans with you. Outside of meeting here.”

 

“Like a date?” Merlin asked, that eyebrow rising steadily but at least not to the degree that Gaius’ often went when Arthur did something spectacularly stupid.

 

“Yes. I wanted to ask you on a date.”

 

“Me?”

 

This time it was Arthur’s turn to frown, putting his mug down on the table to reach across to cover Merlin’s hand with his own. “Yes, you. Do you have a secret twin I’ve been meeting every other week or something? Why not you?”

 

Merlin, for some unknown but blessed reason, laughed at his bad joke. “No secret twins, I promise. I just, I guess no one’s really been that interested and especially not someone like,” here, Merlin gestured vaguely at Arthur with his free hand, “you.”

 

“I don’t meet many people like you either, Merlin.”

 

“What, your loyal subjects?”

 

“Haha, Mer _ lin _ . Very funny. But truly, will you go on a date with me?”

 

“Yes. Yes, of course I will, Arthur.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> Comments welcome! Especially prompts (no NSFW) <3
> 
> Come find me at [TheWordForest](https://thewordforest.tumblr.com/) <3 for original work and writing ramblings!
> 
> All mistakes my own, no beta


End file.
